People living in the suburban towns and villages in Reading are being encouraged to get out of their cars and use buses and active travel routes instead.
Earley and Woodley are both suburban towns in the Reading urban area, and Shinfield is a suburban village that is separated from the town by the M4.
The three places fall within Wokingham Borough Council's jurisdiction.
A few months ago, the council adopted a new Local Transport Plan that sets out its travel policies for how people will get around in the area for the next 10 to 15 years.
The plan acknowledges Earley, Woodley and Shinfield have a "high draw to Reading", good public transport, local services and walking and cycling networks.
It states that they are well-connected to Reading, with many residents commuting for work and amenities.
High bus frequencies into and out of Reading mean these areas have the highest bus usage in Wokingham Borough.
The council is working with Reading Borough Council on possible improvements to the London Road westbound bus lane Reading Borough created last August, and supporting the park and rides at Thames Valley Park and Winnersh Triangle.
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Rail travel is less common, with the main train stations being Earley and Reading Green Park station, which opened in May 2023.
Earley station is on the Reading to London Waterloo railway line run by South Western Railway, which was nationalised this May.
The line also stops at Winnersh Triangle, Winnersh, Wokingham and Bracknell.
Meanwhile, Green Park, the closest train station for people in Shinfield provides services between Reading and Basingstoke.
While walking and cycling are common for short trips, they are not so much for travel into and out of Reading.
To address that, progress is being made on the Woodley to Reading Active Travel Route between Woodley town centre and Palmer Park.
Recent developments that provide opportunities and challenges to the travel network are the 3,000 new homes that are set to be delivered in the council's South of the M4 major development and the opening of Shinfield Eastern Relief Road in October 2017, which alleviated traffic running through the village.
The development of the Thames Valley Science Park, including the opening of Shinfield Studios and museum storage facilities presents challenges.
The new Local Transport Plan for 2035-2040 was adopted at a full meeting on Thursday, March 20.
You can view the final plan on the My Journey website.
Earley Town councillors agreed to reform its Bus Services Working Group at their last full meeting on July 9.
Members of the group have not been appointed yet.
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